MysteryMonday: Mountainview Road, Briar Hill, Early to Mid 1960s

Note the FJ Holden ute with canopy and old motorcycle with side-car. These may have belonged to the Watson brothers (C.J. Watson’s sons) who undertook stone work for the Council. (From the collection of Eltham District Historical Society)

#MysteryMonday – Today’s images are again of a residential area, possibly Eltham or Montmorency but we are not sure. They were taken in the early to mid 1960s. Work is under way at the house one down from the bend where two piles of bluestone are gathered; possibly for terrace edging of the driveway and footpath. These images were from a strip of negatives, most likely taken by a Shire of Eltham employee so the works could have been part of council operations. Many streets in the shire have stonework edges for gardens abutting footpaths where the the roads have been cut into the terrain. Much of this stone masonry work was undertaken for the council by C.J. Watson and Sons.

From the collection of Eltham District Historical SocietyIn this picture we see the cement mixer on the right so possibly stone work being undertaken both sides of the street. There is another street intersecting mid-way but the sign is illegible. (From the collection of Eltham District Historical Society)Possibly one of the Watson brothers? Note the red kerosene warning lantern sitting on the bluestone blocks. The EK Holden may have belonged to the Council employee who took the photos. (From the collection of Eltham District Historical Society)

Can you identify it? We’d love to hear from you; your thoughts and suggestions as to where it is, any stories you can tell about the area or similar photos you can share?

MYSTERY SOLVED – Mountainview Road, Briar Hill just near No. 145 – thanks to JazzGav Burge (via Facebook) who immediately confirmed our own suspicions, Sharon Turner (via FB) who recalled the row of large pine trees as a youngster and eagle eyed Joan Stamp (via FB) who spotted the number 145 behind the ute, which we had missed. The record of solving our MysteryMonday challenges is pretty good but we still need to confirm last week’s challenge if you are keen for more – https://elthamhistory.wordpress.com/2018/02/26/mysterymonday-residential-street-eltham-montmorency-area-c-1985/

50 Years 1967-2017

The Shire of Eltham: People living in the environment (c.1985)

This video was produced for the Shire of Eltham in response to the 1985 Victorian Local Government Commission Report titled ‘The
Restructure of Local Government in Victoria – Principles and Program’ (the Morris review). The recommendation was to amalgamate the Shires of Eltham and Diamond Valley, something that Eltham Council did not support as being appropriate for the shire or compatible with the ‘Spirit of Eltham’. The video features Shire President, Cr. Mary Grant talking with the Hon. Pauline Toner MP and Max McDonald MP. Eltham Shire CEO Rodney Roschellor presents an alternate proposal for a shire merging more aligned to the ‘Spirit of Eltham’.Also featured are Eltham icons such as the Eltham Railway Trestle Bridge, Montsalvat, Eltham Community Centre along with mudbrick making, artist Matcham Skipper, the Green Wedge and St Andrews Market. Other commentary is provided by locals Judy Wadham and Lester Eaton.

MAIN RD, ELTHAM, FEB. 1968 (HISTORYPIN)

Check out our collection of images of Main Road, Eltham between Bridge Street and Elsa Court which were taken in February 1968 just before duplication of the road. (Use the slider to fade from 1968 to current Google Streetview.)

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Our Society encourages interest in and the sharing of stories about the local history of the Eltham district in Victoria, Australia